My 9 month old male cavalier has developed an annoying habit/behaviour recently which is driving me potty!!

When he is out on a walk and meets another dog or playing off lead with a group of dogs, he is constantly jumping up in their
faces and pestering them and he is always trying to lick them underneath, this is with both male and female dogs.??

Has anyone else experienced this behaviour?

I have been advised the only way to stop this is to have his neutered but I don't want to put him through that if its
more a behaviour issue and can be sorted with training?

Help please......

13th August 2012, 02:53 PM

RodRussell

Neutering is not the solution to this behavior. We had a cavalier that was attracted to nearly every dog he saw, regardless of breed or size. We finally solved his issue by getting him another cavalier, when he reached age 2 years. Once we did, he ignored all other dogs, and only paid attention to his dog. Of course, they became life-long friends.

13th August 2012, 05:14 PM

MomObvious

Fletcher is extremely social as well. We have an old poodle who will play with him some but not nearly as much as Fletcher would like. My parents have a house full of dogs some who cannot stand Fletcher. I promise they have one Oliver who hates Fletcher for being so "in his face play with me" but I think Fletcher thinks pestering him is its own form of entertainment. Oliver is not a physical threat (he has like 4 teeth and weights about 5 lbs) so we just laugh and distract Fletcher into playing with one of the other dogs who enjoys him. Oliver just pretty much stays clear of the playful younglings.
I try really hard to play with Fletcher as much as possible. He loves it, I have fun too, and we are training as well. Tho I did just have Fletcher neutered I do not expect it to change his extra social behavior. Training is going pretty well but he gets full on cavalier ADHD when it comes to playing with other dogs or kids. This dogs lives to play and enjoy everyone and everything he can. Personally I love this about him and I hope he is this playful his whole life. I have had shy timid dogs, I prefer happy go lucky. However, I think training is a must. You want to allow the dog to BE his/her personality but you can't have a wild I don't hear anything you say brat either.

13th August 2012, 06:36 PM

Karlin

I'd think there are a couple of things going on here. The jumping and pestering is in dog terms a bit rude for a puppy this age -- if h is giving lots of social time with older dogs they will naturally discipline this type of behaviour with warning growls or snaps (this is NOT a fight and is NOT an attack on a puppy -- simply dog language for 'you are really rude and getting on my nerves).

If he is still doing this the typical cause is lack of plenty of direct socialisation -- eg off lead, for a good period of time, with friendly adult dogs who will put a halt to this directly and swiftly! If he only is briefly meeting dogs on a walk for sniffing greetings then he isn;t getting enough real socialising. I'd look for some opportunities daily if possible for off lead play. Even other puppies the same age will tend to halt this kind of thing by this age amongst themselves as it IS annoying and with a poorly socialisied adult, could lead to an actual fight -- hence getting this resolved in this naturalway is the best approach. No human can duplicate the handy inter-dog behaviour training that comes from letting young dogs learn from their elders! :)

But the jumping up is very different from sniffing and licking -- WHICH IS NORMAL behaviour when dogs greet each other, You may also notice that dogs often will lick the urine marking left on a tree or wall as well -- this is a normal way for them to get info about the dog that left its calling card! Sniffing at the groin and butt is a FRIENDLY dog interaction and should always be allowed. You will typically notice tails wagging on both sides as they do this. Lots of dogs will also lick at the genitals for the same reason they lick urine deposits from other dogs -- it simply gives them info. Try to prevent these normal greetings and owners accidently teach their dogs there's something wrong with friendly, info-gathering greetings that are the norm of canine communication and this can directly lead to a dog that gets aggressive or is seen to be aggressive because it doesn't correctly read dog language, appeasement behaviours, etc.

Neutering isn't directly related to this but if you have a male that is overly friendly I would agree that neutering helps curtail overly rude and sexual behaviour towards other dogs. My trainer friends at Dog Training Ireland would recommend neutering for this and other reasons anyway particularly with male dogs. I have fostered and managed countless rescue cavaliers over the years and have always seen a major improvement in really pushy behaviour towards other dogs from males, once neutered, so I'd have a different view on this. :)

Now would be a very good time to do a group obedience or activity class (if you have done 1st level group obedience already) so that your dog gets some wide-ranging and supervised socialisation (look for a class run by an APDT or CCPDT qualified trainer -- websites for these organisations have lists of trainers by regions worldwide). A trainer will help you undertsand what is acceptable and normal behaviour and what isn't, and how to manage both. :D

14th August 2012, 06:40 PM

DZee

The advice Karlin shared is *excellent..so can't really add anything.

Just wanted to share that our Cavalier ~ Wrigley also jumps around the face area when playing w/ our labrador ~ Zeb. I think it is due to the size difference for one...as Zeb is one huge lab. Zeb is also a few years older..so it has been a good learning experience for Wrigley to be shown by his elder brother.. "manners". If Wrigley gets annoying...Zeb will politely let him know..enough is enough. Most dogs communicate to others without it becoming a confrontation.
So I too agree...tons of socialization is the key. He may be 9 mo.'s old..but keep socializing him as much as possible.
And perhaps some extra training too if this behavior continues.
Even though some of what you are seeing is fairly normal dog behavior.
I also agree w/ Karlin...neutering a male slows down that desire to be overly nosey or rude to some degree.

15th August 2012, 07:37 PM

smarsden99

Thanks for the advice.
He is a very well socialised puppy and has been group socialised since he was 4 months old and goes 3 times a week for an off lead group walk with dogs of all shapes and sizes. The licking and pestering of other dogs has only started in the last couple of weeks which is strange as he wasnot doing it at all prior to that time. I have booked an appointment with a dog trainer to have him assessed in order to sort out if its hormonal or behavioural issue as I do not approve of neutering a dog as an answer to all issues as the facts are it doesn't fix all issues.

As for the jumping up I am doing daily training sessions with him and visitors , other dogs and people we meet on walks to teach him that he does not get any attention if he jumps up in peoples faces. we are making slow but positive progress.